Knowledge is power. The pen is mightier than the sword. Forewarned is forearmed. It is better to light one candle than curse the darkness. Feel free to add your own favorite truism.

This page will forever be a work in progress. But my short-term goal is that this page will include nearly all the links I have included in previous posts that provide information, resources & support for people dealing with breast cancer & other cancers & health care issues. This will by no means ever be a comprehensive list, and I’m going to try to patch up the current glaring holes in it as I go along. But I can say that I have personally visited each of these links & found some interesting & useful information at each of them. Please remember, however, that if you need medical advice, you need to find & speak with a physician. But when you speak with any physician, remember that physicians are supposed to abide by the principle of informed consent; that you are the person who gets to decide, not them; and that you are entitled to whatever advice or information you need to make an informed decision, including second opinions. So, my first link is to my previous post about this thorny subject: Blind-Sided: Cancer 101 & Informed Consent.

If you have any good links to add here, or if you find a dead or changed link address, please send an email to: contact@accidentalamazon.com

Breast Cancer Screening, Evaluation & Prevention:

Cancer.net’s Guide to Breast Cancer — When you get the bad news, this is a downloadable guide that will help get you up to speed on what to do — and not do. You can print it out, read it with a loved one, bring part or all of it to the doctor’s office, set it on fire, whatever. It’s a place to start.

Breast Cancer Screening With Imaging: Recommendations From the Society of Breast Imaging and the ACR on the Use of Mammography, Breast MRI, Breast Ultrasound, and Other Technologies for the Detection of Clinically Occult Breast Cancer – the radiologists weigh in. This is a downloadable PDF.

Breast Diagnosis — Written by pathologist Ervin Shaw, M.D., this is a cogent, concise summary of the interpretive tools used to evaluate tissue, fluids and cells to determine the presence, type, stage, prognosis and recurrence risk of breast cancer. The results of these analyses are what your doctors will likely be drawing from when they recommend treatment options.

The Van Nuys Prognostic Index — an analytical tool, also presented by Dr. Shaw, used by pathologists and oncologists to calculate recurrence risk for patients with ductal carcinoma.

Tumor Markers for Breast Cancer — “To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) asks its medical experts to develop recommendations for specific areas of cancer care. ASCO developed a clinical practice guideline about tumor markers for breast cancer. This guide for patients is based on ASCOâ€™s recommendations.” A downloadable pamphlet.

BreastCancer.org – a site providing expert, succinct, accurate & up-to-date information provided by a physician advisory board, plus — and perhaps more importantly — a phenomenal online forum of peers comprised of survivors & their family & friends who help each other in all kinds of way.

Breast Cancer Wiki — This is an editable wiki list of cancer resources put together by a survivor. Feel free to contribute to it.

National Cancer Institute – These are the big guys. Their extensive website provides a cancer dictionary, info & resources about every kind of cancer there is, even information about research trials that patients can participate in.

Reach to Recovery – Survivors who can help you become a survivor with home visits, assistance and information. If you register on their website, you can also get access to more help and info about local support and education groups. From their mission statement: “For more than 40 years, the American Cancer Society Reach to Recovery program has helped people (female and male) cope with their breast cancer experience. This experience begins when someone is faced with the possibility of a breast cancer diagnosis and continues throughout the entire period that breast cancer remains a personal concern.”

Also check the links under Radiation & Chemotherapy below.

Breast Cancer Research & Awareness:

Army of Women — Dr. Susan Love’s organizing project to get women to sign up in order to be available as potential participants in research to understand & cure breast cancer. Info, blog, research updates, etc.

F.O.R.C.E. – Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered. Certain genes, called BRCA1 and BRCA2, have been found to show mutations which are associated with the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. You can be tested to determine if you have these mutations and get help to decide what to do about it. FORCE’s mission: “To provide women with resources to determine whether they are at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer due to genetic predisposition, family history, or other factors; to provide information about options for managing and living with these risk factors; to provide support for women as they pursue these options.”

National Family Caregivers Association – The NFCA mission is to empower family caregivers to act on behalf of themselves and their loved ones, and to remove barriers to health and well being.

Lotsa Helping Hands – “a private, web-based caregiving coordination service that allows family, friends, neighbors and colleagues to create a community and assist with the daily tasks that become a challenge when caring for an aging loved one or during long-term caregiving.”

BP4CG – Beauty Pearls For Chemo Girls; kind of a goofy name for the site centered around a useful book that helps you deal with a lot of the physical side effects of chemo that affect your hair, skin, fingernails, etc. You can get the book for $10 with all the info in one place. Plus they have workshops all over.

Look Good…Feel Better – Another organization that helps you handle the physical changes to your appearance during cancer treatment, with workshops all over the place which give out free make-up and advice. Their mission: “ Look Goodâ€¦Feel Better is a free, non-medical, brand-neutral, national public service program created to help individuals with cancer look good, improve their self-esteem, and manage their treatment and recovery with greater confidence.”

Cording & Axillary Web Syndrome – lymph node excision is not the only thing that can put you at risk for developing circulatory congestion in your lymphatic system. Radiation and/or surgery alone can put you at risk.

Healthcare.gov — a site about your health insurance options, put together by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Cancer and Careers — an organization that helps working women with cancer, which is most of us. From their mission statement: “Cancer and Careers is committed to changing the face of cancer in the workplace by providing a comprehensive website, free publications, and a series of support groups and educational seminars for employees with cancer.”

Cancer Insurance from Colonial Life – This is a supplemental insurance you can buy on your own or through your employer that helps cover the costs of treatment that health insurance doesn’t. It also reimburses you $100 each year if you get a preventative cancer test like a Pap smear, PSA test, mammogram or colonoscopy.

New Attitude Custom Prostheses — yes, off the shelf prosthesis have improved, but custom breast prostheses are phenomenal. Be sure to check out the photos of how they fit. Amazing. And covered by insurance in most cases.

Handful Brassieres — bras for women that actually sweat sometimes and aren’t all the same size. Can accommodate prostheses.

The Breast Life — an irreverent, humorous and enormously informative site with all manner of info,expertise and resources for living with and without our breasts.

Cancer Happens — a post about clinging to reality in the face of idiots playing “the blame game.”

Not All Better — A Survivorship Toolbox — a blog post with several linkable resources to improve the way that the public health community addresses cancer survivorship and to empower survivors with the skills to advocate for ourselves and obtain access to effective, comprehensive help.

osteoporosis — Before you swallow any hormone therapy or let anyone yank out your ovaries, read this PDF pamphlet, written by me in my professional capacity as a physical therapist & osteoporosis educator.

8 Responses to “Cancer Resource Links”

Hello. I am wondering if you would be interested in including a link to 4Women.com in your Chemo and Radiation section on your resources page? 4Women.com is founded by Susan Beausang, a BRCA2 carrier and Previvor. She designed a head scarf, the beaubeau, specifically for women/girls with medical hair loss. We’d be happy to provide a reciprocal link to your blog if you’re interested.

Fabulous blog by the way. You really delve deeply and comprehensively into your topics.

Just ran across your site today. Terrific. I did not see listed as a resource (plus a search of your site as well) of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (http://www.nccn.com). It’s done by a consortium of the top 21 cancer hospitals in the world (mostly US). They publish (can be downloaded) handbooks, of about 100 pages each, with guidelines for dealing with the major cancers. I found the breast cancer handbook too late to stop the radiation treatments that, for me, were a waste of time, 6 weeks, and money (tax dollars of $40k, personal cost of about $2500) for so little benefit but have the possibility of long term harm. Too soon old; too late smart.

This is part of the MN Dept of Health, but I think there are probably other foundations similar to it in other states. An organization that assists women with breast and cervical cancer screening. Offering free office visits and exams, all the way through insurance coverage for treatment.

Sage Screening was able to secure insurance for me after my diagnosis, which is different than the norm. Usually they help women prior to diagnosis and then post diagnosis. I was unemployed when I was diagnosed and looking at financial ruin, and need to sell my house without insurance to cover the cancer treatments. This group made a massive difference in my life and treatment.

Great list of resources that I have used to learn more about breast cancer!

I was wondering if you’d be interested in adding our free app as a resource to your readers. My Breast Cancer Journey provides both support and a personalized patient experience to patients going through a cancer journey for free. We have just launched our first app, My Breast Cancer Journey, which connects the the Journey Supporter app.

Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me about this!

Tina

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I'm a symmetry-challenged Baby-Boomer, an artist, writer & closet geek with a day job as a healthcare clinician. In 2008, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thus far, I've lived to complain about it -- and there's a lot to complain about, in the healthcare system & in the rampant merchandising of this disease. Change does not happen in silence, so I choose to speak out & question the status quo, with gusto, soul-searching, analysis & research, in the hope that it might help. A little skepticism is healthier than a lot of disillusionment.

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